Here are just a few tips to help you but it doesn't guaranty that you will win!
There are so many photo contests that sometimes it is difficult to know exactly what to do. We will try to give you a few advices.
Choose the contest that is right for you:
Even if it seems obvious, don't participate in all the contests you can find on the internet. Select them carefully. For instance, choose the good subject. The theme of the contest has to be relevant with your body of work. Try one's luck in a contest were you can send images that match the subject. Also, check the level of difficulty. If you are an amateur keep in mind that you will have less chance to win a professional contest. Of course you can try but just try to remain realist in your expectations.
Carefully read the rules and regulations:
Some photographers tend to forget to read the rules and regulations but it is very important. You need to know what you are allowed to do or not, check out the rules about copyright if you don't want to have a nasty surprise. In some cases you will see your work in catalogs without you knowing about it. Be also very cautious with entry fees. Some contests are very expensive but it doesn't mean that it is more reliable or serious than a free contest.
How is your image judged?
Sometimes by vote, sometimes by a jury and sometimes both when there are several stages. In the contests were the public vote it is often the photographers who have more friends who win. You's better be a good salesman than a good photographer. I would recommend to avoid these types of contests unless you think you have a really good chance. I prefer the contests where professionals judge your work. First of all because it is the best challenge there is. If a panel of jurors like your work you can be proud. It is sometimes a good idea to try to find who are the judges so that you can try to find what type of work they like. It can help you choose an image over another if you feel it is more likely to be liked by that juror.
The choice of the image:
There is no miracle recipe but pay attention to a few things.
*Check out the previous winners it can give you an idea of what the judges are looking for. *Keep in mind the theme of the contest. if your image is just slightly relevant to the theme you have less chance to win. *If you are submitting a portfolio make sure that the images tell a story or that there is a real link between them. In other words don't send images that don't go well together. *Be original. Competition is hard and a jury will be more likely to notice your work if it is a little different than others. *If you want to participate in a specific contest but you don't have in your stock an image that would fit, don't hesitate to create one. It is a good challenge and the chosen theme might inspire you in a new way. *If it is a contest with votes, submit your images as soon as possible. The earlier the better. If the contest is judged, no rush! Take time to choose wisely. *Prepare clean files or prints. Read carefully what the guidelines. Check out if your image is going to be printed on paper or judged on a screen.
Ralph Gibson (b. 1939) is one of the most interesting and versatile photographers of our time. His great international reputation is based on his exceptional work, which is exhibited and collected by leading museums around the world, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, the Maison Européenne de la Photographie in Paris and the Fotomuseum Winterthur in Switzerland. The publication accompanying the exhibition Ralph Gibson. Secret of Light brings together key series from the F. C. Gundlach Collection, Hamburg, as well as the photographer’s collection and describes his artistic development from the 1960s to the present. Gibson tirelessly explores and breaks new ground in photography. The playful use and design with light are an essential part of his unmistakable signature, which is reflected in his multi-layered and complex oeuvre.
The Eye Mama book is a photographic portfolio showcasing the mama narrative and the mama gaze, what female and non-binary photographers see when they look at, and into the home.
Based on the Eye Mama Project, a photography platform sharing a curated feed by photographers worldwide who identify as mamas, the Eye Mama book brings together more than 150 images to render what is so often invisible―caregiving, mothering, family and the post-motherhood self― visible.
Eye mama was created by BAFTA-nominated filmmaker and photographer Karni Arieli during the pandemic, when everyone around the world was in lockdown and spending more time in the home, often consumed by caregiving. The visual movement centres around the “mama gaze”, an introspective look at home and care by female and non-binary visual artists.
This iconic book of photographs brings together the images from this movement, experiencing the light and dark of care and parenthood, the beauty of close-up details, love and hardship, and most importantly, the personal poetic truths of these mamas and artists.
Throughout the 1980s, award-winning photographer Dafydd Jones was granted access to some of England's most exclusive upper-class events. Now, the author of Oxford: The Last Hurrah presents this irreverent and intimate portrait of birthday parties and charity balls, Eton picnics and private school celebrations.
With the crack of a hunting rifle and a spray of champagne, these photos give an almost cinematic account of high-society England at its most riotous and its most vulnerable. Against the backdrop of Thatcher's Britain, globalization, the Falklands War, rising stocks and dwindling inherited fortunes, Jones reveals the inner lives of the established elite as they party long into the night-time of their fading world.
This richly illustrated volume is the first critical look at the early career of Arthur Tress, a key proponent of magical realism and staged photography.
Arthur Tress (b. 1940) is a singular figure in the landscape of postwar American photography. His seminal series, The Dream Collector, depicts Tress’s interests in dreams, nightmares, fantasies, and the unconscious and established him as one of the foremost proponents of magical realism at a time when few others were doing staged photography.
This volume presents the first critical look at Tress’s early career, contextualizing the highly imaginative, fantastic work he became known for while also examining his other interrelated series: Appalachia: People and Places; Open Space in the Inner City; Shadow; and Theater of the Mind. James A. Ganz, Mazie M. Harris, and Paul Martineau plumb Tress’s work and archives, studying ephemera, personal correspondence, unpublished notes, diaries, contact sheets, and more to uncover how he went from earning his living as a social documentarian in Appalachia to producing surreal work of “imaginative fiction.” This abundantly illustrated volume imparts a fuller understanding of Tress’s career and the New York photographic scene of the 1960s and 1970s.
This volume is published to accompany an exhibition on view at the J. Paul Getty Museum at the Getty Center from October 31, 2023, to February 18, 2024.
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